But now, with election law on their side, the group’s organizers announced a deal to broadcast their new movie, called “The Hope And The Change” (trailer below). It’s scheduled to be broadcast on a number of cable networks usually found at the higher end of the digital dial — and not carried by many American cable providers. Ironically, the largest outlet carrying the documentary is HDNet, the network best known for reviving Dan Rather’s journalism career. Others carrying the movie include Rural Network and RFD-TV, sister networks that cater to rural audiences and are owned by the Gottsch family, who, as we’ve previously noted, are big financial supporters of Nebraska’s Democratic Senate candidate Bob Kerrey.

Although Citizens United brags on its website that the documentary will reach 100 million American households, the reality is the movie actually won’t be available to much of the country. For example, in our zip code here in Washington, D.C., only Dish Network and DirectTV subscribers — not those of Comcast, which has the largest market share — will be able to view the movie.

Of course, that won’t stop Citizens United from pursuing what may be the point of the movie — a blizzard of promotional advertising. The organization is actually comprised of several different groups — a super PAC, a 501(c)(3) called Citizens United Foundation, and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, which does not disclose its donors.

So far this election cycle, we’ve been able to track at least $244,000 in spending by the group — most of it for an Arizona Republican who ran, and lost, to replace Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. But because much of what the group does is shielded by its status under the 501(c) section of the tax code — we’ve tracked groups that use similar tactics in our Shadow Money Trail series — we have no way of telling exactly how much they’ll spend to back the new film.

WAYS AND MEANS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS:Politicoreports that the House Ways and Means Committee — both Republicans and Democrats — will be meeting behind closed doors on Thursday. The committee, which has jurisdiction over tax law, is arguably one of the most powerful in Washington.

According to reports, the gathering will deal with a large amount of unfinished business on the panel’s plate — namely all of the tax provisions fast approaching their expiration at the end of this year.

OpenSecrets.org data shows that, when it comes to campaign contributions, Ways and Means is a hot ticket. For example, the health professionals industry has given members of the committee more than $4.5 million in donations in the 2011-2012 cycle (from PACs as well as individuals affiliated with companies in the industry), while the insurance industry has given $3.9 million and the securities and investment industry sent $3.2 million. In all three instances, two-thirds of the money has gone to Republican members of the committee.

Lawyers have contributed about $2.9 million to panel members — but the giving pattern is reversed, with 64 percent going to Democratic members.

ROMNEY REMARKS MADE AT HOME OF MAJOR DONOR: Recordings of comments made by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney expressing disdain for “47 percent of the people” who will vote for President Barack Obama “no matter what”, at a closed-door reception for donors were leaked to the press yesterday, causing quite a national news stir. In the recordings, Romney claims that group of voters doesn’t pay income tax and so won’t be interested in his plan for tax cuts. The Romney campaign is defending the comments as a blunter version of what he says in public, but judging by the host of the event, those comments were intended for a very elite audience.

Mother Jones magazine, which first broke the story of the recordings, reports that the comments were recorded at a fundraiser at the Boca Raton home of Marc Leder, who runs Sun Capital Advisers, a private-equity firm that specializes in leveraged buyouts. The event had a $50,000-per-ticket fee, but if Leder’s own campaign donations are an indication, many at the event probably went above and beyond that.

According to OpenSecrets.org data, Leder and his wife, Lisa, have combined to give more than $61,000 to the Republican National Committee and $7,500 to Romney’s campaign. Leder has also given $225,000 to Restore Our Future, the super PAC backing Romney, and a grand total of $304,5000 this cycle, including those super PAC donations.

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